The San Diego-based Competitor Group, which operates the Rock ’n’ Roll Savannah Marathon this morning, has never left a city in the national series’ 14-year history.

So when Tracy Sundlun, Senior Vice President of Events for Competitor, was asked how long he would like to extend the current three-year contract with Savannah that expires in 2013, he picked a big number.

“Forever,” Sundlun said Thursday. “It is always our intention when we create an event for it to be permanent, for us never to leave.”

Joe Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah and a key player in contract negotiations, said “forever is a good thing,” but he’s working with smaller increments.

“We are working out the details to try to extend the current agreement for another three years, and both sides feel comfortable biting off three years at a time,” Marinelli said. “In a perfect world, I’d like to get that deal done by the end of the year.”

Visit Savannah coordinates with city and county officials as well as facilities such as the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. While talks are expected with Competitor representatives in town this week, Marinelli would like to be “ahead of the curve” and not wait until the 2013 to negotiate.

“Protecting dates in October and November in the city is getting harder and harder to do because tourism has been so strong,” Marinelli said. “By negotiating this far in advance, I’m not only protecting our customer, the Competitor Group, but I’m also protecting Savannah’s interests by getting them locked in.”

Child’s play

New for this year’s race weekend is the KiDS ROCK Savannah at 2 p.m. Sunday at Daffin Park.

The 1-mile fun run for children grades K-7 is not timed. The emphasis is on fun and exercise, as some participants are using the race as the last mile of 26.2-mile (marathon) training program.

“I think one of the best aspects of this year is now they have a little marathon for the children,” Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson said this week. “That’s going to be great for tomorrow because these young people have had an opportunity to run while they’re in school in order to qualify for the program. So that will grow as we move forward.”

Warmer welcome

Among those who entered the New York City Marathon but took a detour to Savannah are James and Colleen King of Greensboro, N.C.

Even before the cancellation Friday of Sunday’s race because of destruction from Hurricane Sandy, the Kings determined Wednesday that they would rather drive to Savannah and see if they could register Thursday for today’s Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon. Online registration closed Sunday.

“We decided with the turmoil, it wasn’t the right thing to go up there,” Colleen King said Friday, noting the damage to people’s homes.

Not only are the Kings entered — Colleen in the full marathon, James in the half — but they each got a 50-percent discount on the $150 final entry fee.

That might help defray the costs of their currently nonrefundable NYC Marathon entry fees ($275 each). Colleen, who qualified for the race, said she got invited to the 2013 race but would have to pay again.

While the Kings didn’t have to pay for airline travel to New York or hotel rooms there, they will be paying for a babysitter to watch their four children ages 5 to 15 during their Savannah stay.

“There are some nice restaurants,” she said, “and we’ll be eating without the kids.”

Charity, cubed

Shane White of Bluffton, S.C., admits what he is attempting to do today for 26.2 miles is “logistically challenging.”

White, 40, will try to break the Guinness World Record for the number of Rubik’s Cubes completed while running a marathon in under five hours.

The record is 100 by Uli Kilian at the 2011 London Marathon. White is aiming for 175.

“I figured to make it a challenge for (Kilian) to try to repeat,” White said Friday. “We’ve been in contact. He knows what we’re doing. He’s encouraging us. He’s sending us a donation.”

White is running and cubing for a cause. A captain at the Parris Island Fire & Rescue Division, White and 30 other friends of the late Bob Banfield will run in Savannah to raise funds for Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s Keyserling Cancer Center. Banfield was a 54-year-old firefighter who died in April of neuroendocrine cancer.

White, who will have a video camera on a chest harness to record his attempt, is the only one cubing.